


Fated Romance

by Eleen



Category: Free!
Genre: (the angst is very light and there's a happy ending), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Day 2, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, RinHaru Week 2018, gou makes a guest appearance, rin's pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-20 08:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17019120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleen/pseuds/Eleen
Summary: Prince Rin Matsuoka from the Samezuka Kingdom faces a dilemma when he is expected to have an arranged marriage to save his kingdom, while deep down he knows the one he truly wants to marry is the Prince of Iwatobi.(AKA a short rinharu royalty au fic)





	Fated Romance

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a short fic I wrote for day 2 of rinharuweek 2018 where both Rin and Haru are princes.  
> I used the following prompts from this day: relationship, fate, romance, and arranged marriage (like, literally almost all of that day's prompts!) (and see what i did there with the title??)  
> I also used the day 1 prompt royalty bc i love royalty au's too much for my own good.
> 
> I want to give a big thanks to [Xenxa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenxa) for beta'ing this for me!!
> 
> This fic is rather short and not as detailed as I'd like, so I may or may not expand on this AU later. For now, though, enjoy!

Rin looked out of his bedroom window, watching Haru arrive with his parents in the courtyard. As they made their way through the palace garden, Rin saw Haru look up at him and smile. He smiled back and waved. Prince Haruka of the Royal Nanase Family of Iwatobi visited Rin’s kingdom frequently. They were neighbouring realms, after all. Iwatobi was located near the ocean, flourishing from fishing and sea trade. Rin’s own kingdom, the Kingdom of Samezuka, was situated next to Iwatobi, but it did not have direct access to any oceans. Samezuka relied on trade and farming livestock. At the moment, however, it was struggling.

Rin and Haru had known each other ever since they were kids. They’d come a long way since when they first met, and Rin truly held Haru close to his heart. They had slowly but surely built a close bond. They’d always loved to swim around in both their palace’s respective pools and they held races that more often than not resulted in ties. It was almost always too close to tell who the real winner was. Rin liked to believe he was the only one who could fire Haru up to race in the water like that, and he could admit that Haru was definitely the one who fired him up the most too.

Lately, though, it seemed their friendship dynamic had shifted and they met more and more often outside of the pool rather than inside it. They would hang out in the palace gardens or go out and visit the marketplace, or search for new sights to see together. Rin first thought that Haru only cared about water, but quickly realized that Haru was actually interested in a lot of things that happened around him. Haru loved going to strange, small shops filled with odd trinkets. Rin had bought him a small statue of a strange-looking sea creature that Haru had been eyeing for his birthday. Haru had been absolutely delighted and Rin couldn’t help but think back to that moment from time to time. He would remember the way Haru’s eyes had lit up and how something had flickered across his face, before Rin could completely identify what expression it had been.

Haru made Rin incredibly happy. Rin was starting to feel more and more admiration for his friend and sometimes, when he let his mind wander, he caught himself imagining how Haru’s lips would taste, or how his skin would feel against his own. He reprimanded himself for thinking these things, as he had no reason to and he was not in a position to indulge in these kinds of fantasies. He had a duty to fulfil. He had to become the next King of Samezuka and with that came the looming aspect of arranged marriage. Rin didn’t want to marry someone for the sake of his kingdom, but he had to. He had no choice. Far away in the back of his mind, he entertained thoughts of marrying Haru more and more often, but there was no way he would ever be able to do so. For even if Haru would somehow, for some magical reason, reciprocate Rin’s feelings, they would still not be able to marry. There were laws and social customs in place that he just couldn’t ignore.

He shouldn’t, it was wrong, it was frowned upon, he wasn’t supposed to be feeling these things. He had a responsibility to his country, his people. He had to save it, and the only way he knew how was to marry someone who wasn’t Haru. And yet, he longed for Haru, longed to be with him, hold him, touch him, kiss him...

 

♢♦️♢

 

It was early in the evening. Rin was studying some maps at his desk in his bedroom, when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up, confused, and asked who was there.

“It’s me,” came Haru’s soft voice from the other end of the door.

Rin frowned. Haru? Coming to him? To his bedroom? That had never happened before. Sure, they’d hung around in each other’s rooms before as kids, but never in the evening, and never just the two of them. It had always been with friends. What did Haru want? Why was he here?

“Can I come in?” Haru asked, after Rin had been so busy being confused and lost in thought that he’d completely forgotten to respond.

“Ah, sure,” Rin said, nodding to his personal guard to signal it was okay for Haru to enter.

 

Haru had stayed for hours. They’d talked about everything and nothing. Rin had showed Haru around his room. They’d looked at some old photographs of Rin’s late father, at Rin’s favorite books of tales full of adventure, at old maps that had once belonged to Rin’s father. Haru had noticed Rin had framed a drawing Haru had made him once. Rin had been incredibly flustered and thought it was embarrassing, but Haru had assured him he thought it was nice of him to keep something like that. He had mumbled “it’s cute,” under his breath, and Rin had had trouble believing he had actually heard it. Maybe he had imagined it, after all.

 

They met again a few nights later, and almost every night after that one.

  
♢♦️♢

 

They were sitting in Rin’s four-poster bed decorated with white drapes and red pillows. Some time ago, Rin would never let anyone else, except for his mother and sister, sit on his bed. Haru had become another exception to that rule. That particular boundary between them had been crossed a while ago.

Rin had heard the news just an hour ago. It was bad. He was glad Haru was here, because he didn’t know what to do with himself. He was close to tears when he brought it up.

“They’ve chosen a suitor for me. It’s almost finalized. They want to hold the wedding this winter.”

Rin was silent for a moment before continuing to speak, his breath hitching. He was biting his lip so hard he could almost taste blood.

“I don’t even _like_ winter. They can’t even give me a spring wedding. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to do this, but I have to. I can’t let them down.”

Just then, Haru did something Rin did not expect. He leant forward and hugged Rin close to him. This unexpected gesture of Haru’s made months of suppressed tears finally fall. Rin started sobbing as he hid his head in Haru’s shoulder. Haru held Rin close to him, refusing to let go.

“It’s okay, Rin, we’ll figure something out,” Haru said while rubbing soothing circles on Rin’s back.

Rin’s sobs slowly started to get less heavy and he began to truly asses the situation he was currently in. He realized he was in Haru’s arms, incredibly close to him. He could feel his warmth, smell his skin, even feel his skin where it connected with his own. As soon as he truly realized how close he was to Haru, he suddenly felt self-conscious. What was he doing, crying his eyes out when he should be strong and not complain about this marriage to his friend. Rin pulled away and wiped his eyes, sitting up and trying to regain his composure.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have… It’s stupid, I’m just overreacting,” he said, looking away from Haru’s face.

“You’re not, Rin, it’s okay. You’re allowed to be upset about this.”

“Yeah, but, it’s not gonna change anything.”

“Still.”

“I know...” Rin sighed, running a hand through his hair.

They were silent for a moment.

“It’s late, I should go,” Haru said, while standing up from the bed.

“Stay,” Rin said softly.

Haru stopped in his tracks, looked around at Rin, and nodded. He sat back down on the bed and smiled.

“So you wanna sleep together in the same bed, like when we were kids?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Rin chuckled, feeling slightly self-conscious.

 

They got ready for bed and crawled under the lavish covers, facing each other.

“Thank you, Haru,” Rin said.

“For what?”

“For… listening to me about this. And making me feel better.”

“No problem,” Haru said softly. He brushed a strand of hair out of Rin’s face, and Rin could feel a tingling warmth spread from where Haru’s fingers had touched his face. They lay facing each other, both unwilling to move.

 

They fell asleep in each other’s arms that night.

  
♢♦️♢

 

Rin waited for the familiar sound of a single knock against his bedroom door that indicated Haru was on the other side. He felt a twinge of excitement when he heard it and motioned for his private guard to let Haru in. Haru walked in and they immediately made eye contact. Haru smiled softly and Rin felt his heart leap in his chest. Rin patted the space next to him on the bed. He watched Haru as he approached and sat down, noticing the way Haru’s body always seemed to move with grace. He was beautiful, with his shiny black hair and his unblemished skin and his eyes bluer than the ocean itself. Haru had carved a nice space for himself in Rin’s heart, and Rin didn’t want it any other way. He looked into Haru’s eyes and realized, as he so often did these days, how much Haru truly meant to him and how he longed for there to be more between them.

There was a weird tension hanging in the air around them. Neither of them spoke and Rin belatedly realized he had been caught staring. He opened his mouth to try and brush off his mistake, but Haru just smiled softly and leant closer to him.

Rin could feel his heart start to beat wildly and his breathing sped up. Haru leant even closer. What was he doing? Was he…? Did he, after all this time, truly feel the same way? Did he want what Rin had wanted for so long? It seemed too good to be true and Rin was almost completely convinced he was dreaming. But even if he were dreaming, it was a damn good dream.

Rin dropped his gaze to Haru’s lips, seeing how pretty and soft they looked. They were so close… He could feel Haru’s breath on his own lips. One more inch and things between them would change. And the worst thing was, that was exactly what Rin wanted. He didn’t want things to stay the same, even if he feared this change at the same time.

Rin bit his lip and averted his eyes. He put a little distance between them.

“Haru, I want to, but… I belong to someone else...”

“No! You belong to yourself,” Haru said firmly, so sudden that it startled Rin. “Can’t you see? It’s not fair. You shouldn’t have your fate decided for you. You should be able to marry whoever you want. Don’t let them choose for you.”

“But-”

“We’re gonna figure something out, I promise you,” Haru said, taking Rin’s hands in his own. “I want to know what _you_ want.”

Haru closed the distance between them again.

“Is this what you want?” Haru looked at Rin with a look of determination on his face.

“Yes. Very much so,” Rin whispered.

Haru captured Rin’s lips with his own and Rin could swear every single nerve in his body was on fire that very moment.

  
♢♦️♢

 

Gou stopped Rin in the hallway after dinner one day.

“Rin. I talked to mom, because I knew that you wouldn’t have done it. She said she had no idea you felt this way. We discussed it. I don’t want to explain the details right now, but the point is, the wedding’s off.”

“Wha- wait, what?! How did that happen? And how do you know I-”

“Brother. I love you, but sometimes you’re not very smart. Haru told me how much you were dreading this wedding and even if he hadn’t told me, I _know_ you. And I also knew that you wouldn’t have told mom because you never want to worry her. So I took it upon myself.”

“Gou, thank you so much! What would I do without you,” Rin said as he hugged his sister.

“You can thank me later, brother. There’s someone who wants to see you right now. I think you know who I’m talking about,” she added with a teasing smile. “Go, he’s waiting for you in his room.”

  
♢♦️♢

 

“Rin. I have to go back soon. I can't stay forever, but I... really want to. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Haru… Is this... Is this a proposal?” Rin asked in a small voice.

“Yes,” Haru said, smiling. Rin fell in love with him all over again, seeing the expression on his face.

“But only if you want it to be. This should be your choice, not anyone else's,” Haru said, his expression firm but still gentle at the same time.

“But… How? We can’t, and-”

“Rin, listen to me. Laws can be rewritten. We’ll unite our kingdoms into a single bigger, stronger one. We’re gonna make this work. I just want to be with you.”

Rin took all this new information in and nodded. They _could_ make this work. They _could_ get married, be together. A huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

“So, do you want to marry me?” Haru continued.

“Yes, of course!” Rin said, a big smile on his face, happier than ever. He fell into Haru’s arms and hugged him tight. Rin could feel tears starting to fall, but he didn’t care. They were happy tears. Haru pulled out of the hug and kissed Rin’s tears away before kissing his lips, both of them smiling the entire time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos or a comment if you liked it! :)


End file.
